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No. 6 Women’s Tennis drops season opener to No. 16 UCLA, 5-2
01.19.2024 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns had to play with just four singles players after illness forced two from the lineup in Los Angeles on Friday.
Los Angeles – No. 6 Texas Women's Tennis fell to No. 16 UCLA, 5-2, in their season opener at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Friday afternoon. The Longhorns had to play with just four singles players after illness forced two from the lineup.
The Bruins began by claiming the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, including in a tiebreaker in the deciding match at No. 2, but Texas was still able to collect wins in two of the four singles matches by seniors No. 45 Malaika Rapolu at No. 2 and Taisiya Pachkaleva at No. 3.
After UCLA took a 1-0 lead with the doubles point, their lead immediately grew to 3-0 with both graduate Tanya Sasnouskaya and senior Charlotte Chavatipon being removed due to illness.
The first singles match to finish then turned out to be the clinching one for UCLA at No. 4, which saw sophomore Vivian Ovrootsky downed by Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, 6-2, 6-1. Ovrootsky held her first serve, but found herself in a 4-1 deficit after Lutkemeyer broke on a deuce point in the last game of a 4-0 run. Ovrootsky responded with a deuce point break of her own, but it would not be enough as Lutkemeyer broke again and then held on another deuce point for the win. In the second, Lutkemeyer maintained control of the match by opening with a 2-0 lead, and after Ovrootsky held on a deuce point for 2-1, Lutkemeyer took the last four games with the first two of those coming at deuce.
The next Longhorn to finish was Pachkaleva, who defeated Bianca Fernandez, 7-6 (5), ret., to make the overall score 4-1. The match's first games were all breaks to that point, with the first hold coming from Fernandez on a deuce point for a 4-2 advantage. Pachkaleva answered by winning the next three games capped by another deuce point and taking her first lead of the set at 5-4, but Fernandez responded with the next two games and positioned herself to serve out the set. However, Pachkaleva showed great resilience and broke Fernandez's serve to force a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was as highly contested as the set with Pachkaleva taking her first lead at 4-3 on a mini-break and extending to 5-3 on her next serve. Fernandez came back with the next two points for 5-5, but it was once again Pachkaleva's turn for consecutive points, which she used to close out the tiebreaker, 7-5. Two points into the second set, Fernandez retired, earning Pachkaleva the win.
Court 1 was the next match to end with junior Sabina Zeynalova falling to Tian Fangran, 7-6 (6), 6-4. After Fangran broke for a 2-0 lead, it started a string of four-straight breaks to get Zeynalova within 3-2 before she held to even it, 3-3. Fangran answered with a hold on a deuce point and another break to regain the two-game lead, but Zeynalova broke and then held to knot the score once again, 5-5. Both players held in the final two games, with Fangran doing so on a deuce point, on the way to a tiebreaker. The breaker began with a 3-0 run from Fangran, but Zeynalova battled back to claim the next four points. Trailing 4-3, Fangran once again went on a 3-0 run for a 6-4 lead. Zeynalova was able to even it, 6-6, but Fangran closed it out on the next two points, 8-6. The second set also saw an early 3-1 Fangran lead based on an opening game break that she then extended to 4-1 on a deuce-point break. Zeynalova was able to answer with a deuce-point break of her own, and follow with a hold to narrow the Fangran lead to 4-3. Zeynalova then had an opportunity to tie on a deuce point, but Fangran was able to hold to start a run of the final three games staying on serve to close out the match.
Texas trailed 5-1 with the final match nearing its conclusion, and Rapolu would not go down without a fight as she defeated Kimmi Hance, 6-4, 7-6 (8), at No. 2. After each player broke the other's opening serve starting with Hance breaking Rapolu on a deuce point, it would be Rapolu to pick up the next break for a 4-2 lead. That started a string of five-straight breaks to close the set for Rapolu's 6-4 win. In the second set, Hance picked up where the players had left off by leading with a break followed by a hold for an early 2-0 advantage. Rapolu would hold then break to even the set. That began another streak of four consecutive breaks, leaving Hance with a 4-3 lead before she held on a deuce point for 5-3. Rapolu also held, and then got the break back for 5-5 before holding again for a 6-5 lead. From there, Hance held to send it to a tiebreaker. There, Rapolu quickly found herself down 3-0 and 4-1, but she mounted a 3-0 run of her own to tie the score, 4-4. Both players went back and forth all the way an 8-7 lead for Hance, but Rapolu held her next two serves and secured a final mini-break to complete a 3-0 run for the win.
Earlier in doubles, Ovrootsky and Chavatipon fell to Lutkemeyer and Ahmani Guichard, 6-3, at No. 3. Guichard and Lutkemeyer managed to break the second game, giving them an early advantage that Texas was unable to surmount.
At court 1, Zeynalova and Pachkaleva were able to even the doubles matches at one apiece with a 6-2 win over Hance and Elise Wagle. The match saw three games that were decided by deuce point, and Texas claimed them all. Zeynalova and Pachkaleva led 5-2 heading into the final game, and broke UCLA's serve to win the match.
At No. 2, UCLA claimed the doubles point with a 7-6 (2) win by Fangran and Fernandez over Rapolu and Sasnouskaya. With the score tied 1-1, Texas began what would become a streak of five games broken between the two teams. Rapolu and Sasnouskaya ended the streak with a hold to give them a 5-3 advantage, but Fangran and Fernandez responded with a hold, break, then another hold to give the UCLA duo a 6-5 lead. Texas held their serve in the final game, leaving the doubles point to be decided via tiebreaker. The Bruins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, and when Texas broke to make the score 3-1. However, UCLA answered with a hold followed by a break to extend to a 5-1 lead. The Longhorn pair was able to hold their final serve, but Fangran and Fernandez secured the point for UCLA with a 7-2 victory.
Texas will look to rebound on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT/1 p.m. CT against No. 21 USC at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium in Los Angeles.
#16 UCLA 5, #6 Texas 2
Singles – Order of Finish (4,3,1,2)
1. Tian Fangran (UCLA) def. Sabina Zeynalova (UT) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
2. #45 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Kimmi Hance (UCLA) 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)
3. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Bianca Fernandez (UCLA) 7-6 (7-5), retired
4. A. Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) 6-2, 6-1
5. Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. No player (UT), by forfeit
6. #99 Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. No player (UT), by forfeit
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1,2)
1. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Kimmi Hance/Elise Wagle (UCLA) 6-2
2. Bianca Fernandez/Tian Fangran (UCLA) def. Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Ahmani Guichard/A. Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) 6-3
Players Mentioned
